This invention concerns improvements in or relating to brakes and particularly to brakes of a type for cooperation with a brake drum and comprising a pair of arms each pivotally coupled to a base and each carrying a brake block mounted on a brake shoe so that, in use, the brake blocks can engage opposite sides of a brake drum coupled to the apparatus with which the brake is used, spring means biassing the arms about their pivots so that the brake blocks are urged towards one another for effecting braking, and a powered brake release mechanism arranged, when energized, to exert a force such as to overcome the spring biassing of the arms and pivot the arms apart so as to release the brake pads from engagement with the drum. The brake release mechanism may be electromagnetically powered from a d.c. source or from an a.c. single or polyphase source for example, or may be pneumatically or hydraulically powered; whilst this invention will be described herein with particular reference to electromagnetically powered brakes, the invention is not restricted to such a power source.